Winter closure for locomotive cabs



Judy 23,, 3940.

O. JABELMANN WINTER CLOSURE FOR LOCOMOTIVE CABS Filed Jan. 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Emacntor attorneys July 23, 1940. o. JABELMANN WINTER CLOSURE FOR LOCOMOTIVE CABS Filed Jan. 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 O. JABELMANN WINTER CLOSURE FOR LOCOMOTIVE CABS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 20, 1939 (Ittornegs Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,208,982 I WINTER CLOSURE FOR LOCOMOTIVE CABS Otto Jabelmann, Omaha, Nebr.

Application January 20, 1939, Serial No. 252,017 7 4 Claims. (01.105-456) the use of a canvas curtain to close the rear of the cab under certain conditions. This curtain is only partially effective for the purpose intended, and has many objectionable characteristics. Hence there is a substantial need for a satisfactory device applicable to existing engines and capable of removal when not needed.

The present invention produces a temporary closure forming a sort of vestibule which projects rearward from the doorway in the cab, and is provided with a door on either side. In good weather the closure may be quickly dismantled, andin such case the doors fold against the rear wall of the cab on either side of the doorway. At certain times, when partial protection is desired. the doors may be swung into the cab and there latched in a position in which they serve as baflles, affording substantial protection to the occupants of. the cab without serving as a closure.

The. invention will now be described in connec, tionwith the accompanying drawings, in which.

F g. 1. is a perspective view of the rear of a locomotive cab with the improved closure in its winter, or active position.

2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the removable door posts. In this view portions arebroken away,fas indicated. to reduce, the length of the view.

. Fig.3 is a section through the post of Figure 2, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

, Fig. 4 is an elevation of the upper end of the post shown in Fig. 2, illustrating the lateral lug and locking bolt. there used.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the locking mechanism shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view looking upward at the corner of the. extension roof and showing the. keeper mechanism for the'latch shown in Figs. 4 and 5. i Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the lug forming part of the keeper mechanism of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is av section showing how the margin of the extension roof is stiffened.

. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the extension roof with the door and door postremoved.

Fig. 10 is a face View of the door.

Fig. 11. is an enlarged section on the line I i-i l of Fig. 10, showing how the door and. deer post are clamped together when these are in their in: active position.

Fig. 121 is a detail view of the latch mechanism shown in Fig. 11.

13. is; a section on; the line l3--|3.o-f Fig.

10 showing the door latch in its active position, and i Fig. 14 is a detail of the lower margin of the door.

In Fig. 1, l6 represents a portion of the cab roof which as usual extends rearwardly beyond the rear wall of the cab. This rear wall is indicated at ll. The rear wall of the cab has the usual central doorway so that there are portions of the rear wall on each side of this doorway. Under favorable weather conditions it is desired to maintain the doorway open and completely unobstructed.

Linked to the cab structure near the lower margin of the rear wall I! is a foot plate l8. One of the two link connections is shown at it. The foot plate l8 rests on the forward end of the tender, and consequently is subject to considerable motion as anincident to relative motion between the tender and the locomotive. This motion imposes certain requirements on the construction of the door posts hereinafter described, because the lower ends of those door posts must be sustained by the shifting foot plate l8.

Extending across the upper margin of the door way is a secondary roof or extension 2!. This projects from the cab wall horizontally to the rear, beneath the rear portion of the roof 16. It is sustained by two angle brackets 22 which are attached to the member 2| and to the rear wall of the cab.

In plan the extension 2! is a symmetrical trapezium having its longer parallel side in contact with the rear wall of the cab and its shorter parallel side marking the rear boundary of the vestibule.

The roof extension 2| is mounted permanently in position, but at each of the rear corners is a removable corner. post indicated, generally, by the numeral 23.. This post must latch fixedly to the roof extension 2|, and accordingly eachpost 23 is provided at its upper end with a laterally extending lug E l-and at its end withv a rectangular longitudinal bolt 25 which is urged outward by the coil compression spring 26, and may be retracted by the chain 21 attached toa lug extending laterally from the bolt.

To latch the upper end of the door post 23 in position the lug 24. is engaged between the roof extension 2i and the retaining, finger or keeper 2 8 (see Figs. 6 and 7 After this has been done, the bolt 25 previously held retracted, is permitted to enter the opening 29 formed to receive it. In this way the upper end of the post 23 is positively locked against vertical and lateral. movements, but may be released at any time by withdrawing the bolt and then moving the upper end of the post 23 laterally to withdraw the lug 24 from behind the keeper 28. It follows that each post 23 is positively locked to the roof extension 2|.

The lower end of the post carries a longitudinal bolt 3| which is urged downward by the coil compression spring 30. The lower end of the bolt 3| is shouldered and engages in a hole 32 formed in the foot plate l8 to receive it, Consequently, the bolt 3| holds the lower end of its post 23 against lateral displacement, and the spring acts to maintain engagement between the bolt 3| and the foot plate. It provides a construction in which each post 23 is positively positioned while up and down movements of the plate [8 within reasonable limits are permitted.

Each of the posts 23 has a flange 33 aligned with and projecting toward the corresponding flange on the other post. Fixedly mounted in these flanges are two series of threaded studs 34 which are designed to receive corresponding eyelets 35 set in the lateral edges of a, curtain 25 36 formed of canvas or other suitable material.

The upper margin of this curtain is permanently attached by clamp strips 31 to the rear margin of theroof extension 2| (see Fig. 9). The side edges are clamped in the flanges 33 by a cover plate 38 which is hinged at 39 to the corresponding post 23.

Each cover plate 38 is clamped in place by nuts 4| threaded on the studs 34. Each nut is provided with an arm by which it may be turned. The free edge of each of the plates 38 is slotted so that it may clear the studs 34. Loss of the nut members 41 is prevented by-chains 42 which are connected to rings swiveled in. grooves formed on the nuts. The chains 42 are attached to the corresponding cover plate 38, but no attempt to illustrate them in Fig. 1 has been made. One such chain is illustrated in Fig. 3.

The door 43, two of which are used, is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 10. It carries on its margin a number of tubular hinge members 44 which alternate with hinge members 45 mounted on the edge of the door way. The hinge structure is so arranged that the door may swing from a position against the rear wall of the cab through about 270, of angle until it projects forward within the cab. Consequently each door 43 enters only into edge engagement with its post 23, and from such engagement may swing into or out of the cab.

As best shown in Figs. 11 and 13, the edge of the door is provided with a rubber sealing strip 40 which is channel shaped in cross section. As indicated in Fig. 13, the door may be latched to its post 23 by a double stirrup-shaped latch 46. Downward motion of the latch is limited when the door is closed by stops 41 carried by the cor responding post 23.

The door 43 cannot extend clear to the foot plate l8 because of the contemplated movements of that plate. Accordingly the lower margin of the, door is provided with a pendant skirt or extension 48 which may be made of carpet or leather or of any other suitable material or combination of materials.

In the summer the closure is not desired, so that the canvas curtain 36 is released from the posts 23 and stowed above the roof extension 2|.

vtwo bracketsa lower bracket 49 (see Fig.1)

and an upper bracket 5|. When the posts are so mounted it is desirable to connect the doors rigidly with the posts, and for this purpose use is made of two clamps which are illustrated in detail in Figs. 11 and 12.

The door carries a threaded stud 53 and the post carries a similar threaded stud 54, each with a corresponding clamping nut 55. A latch member 56 is pivoted on one of the studs and is notched at its opposite end as indicated at 51 to enter into engagement with the other stud. By engaging the latch member 56 and setting up both the nuts 55, the post and the door are rigidly connected together. This produces a releasable rigid connection. The post holds the door in its inactive position against the end wall I! of the cab, the post being then latched into the brackets 49, 5|.

If it is desired to carry the door inside the cab,

the door post is latched at its top into an opening 58 formed in an inward extending bracket 59 (see Figs. 1 and 9). The bolt 3! at the lower end of each post t3 is then engaged in a corresponding opening suitably located in the cabfloor. At such time also the latch members 56; are set up and clamped by the nuts 55 so that the door is rigidly held in position. l,

The doors may be constructedin any suitable way, but a wooden frame facedwith steel and having a transparent panel (preferably of shatter-proof glass) is the preferred construction. This construction is illustrated in the drawings.

The construction may be modified slightly to meet the particular requirements of individual locomotives.

The advantage of the scheme is that it provides a small vestibule or enlargement of the cab, permits access to the cab from either side of the locomotive, and is not injuriously affected by upward and downward movement of the hinged foot plate [8. Furthermore, the closure structure can be quickly dismantled when not needed, and then all of the dismounted parts can be stowed out of .the way but still connected to the locomotive. Consequently, no special storage facilities are required and the closure structure is available for use whenever required.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a loeomotivecab having end wall portions separated by a doorway; a vestibule roof member extendingrearward from the upper margin of the doorway; a foot plate extending rearward from the lower margin of the doorway; a pair of door posts removably mounted between said roof member and foot plate and including means to accommodate relative movementthereof; means forming aremovable closure extending between said posts; a pair of hinged doors for normally closing the interval between said posts and the margins of said doorway; a latch for holding said door closed; means for sustaining said doors and posts in two positions alternative to the normal position just mentioned in one of which the doors and posts are in an inactive position against the end wall portions of the cab, and in the other of which the doors extend into the cab from the margin of the doorway and serve as wind deflecting baffles; and releasable clamping means distinct from'said latch for rigidly fixing said posts to the edges of corresponding doors when in the last named positions.

2. The combination of a locomotive cab having spaced back wall portions with an intervening doorway; a pair of doors each hinged adjacent the margin of said doorway; ng

to swing to an open position against corresponding back wall portions; a pair of removable door posts against which said doors may close; a canvas curtain closing the interval between said door posts; and means for fastening said curtain to said posts including studs on the posts, eyelets in the margin of the curtain arranged to engage said studs and a hinged retaining strip mounted on the post and shiftable to and from a retaining position in which it overlies the margin of said curtain, to retain the same in engagement with said studs, and releasable means for retaining said strip in the last named position.

3. The combination of a locomotive cab having end wall portions separated by a doorway; a vestibule roof member extending rearward from the upper margin of the doorway; a foot plate extending rearwardly on the lower margin of the doorway and arranged for limited movement relatively thereto; a removable door post struc ture; releasable means for positively connecting said door post structure with said vestibule roof member; means comprising at least one spring urged bolt forming a yielding connection between said door post structure and said foot plate; and a pair of hinged doors for normally closing the intervals between said post structure and the margins of said doorway.

4. The combination with a structure as defined in claim 3, in which the door post structure comprises two removable door posts, and the doors are hinged to swing through approximately 270 of angle; of additional pairs of sustaining means, one pair for sustaining said posts vertically within the cab'each forward of a corresponding one of the sides of the doorway, and another pair for sustaining the posts against the end walls of the cab on opposite sides of the doorway; and releasable means for connecting the outer edge of each door at at least two points rigidly to the corresponding post when the post is in either of the last named positions.

OTTO JABELMANN. 

